1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a reproduction apparatus comprising at least one screen to show information.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reproduction apparatuses having at least one screen or a display in the form of a screen are well known and are used in the most varied application fields. such an apparatus can be, for example, a computer screen for a computer and serve to display information provided by the computer. It is also possible for the reproduction device to be part of a larger system and to output information that serves the system control. It is also possible for it to be part of an information or security system such as, for example, an air traffic controller system, with relevant information concerning air traffic being shown on it. This is only a portion of the application possibilities where a reproduction apparatus (thus a screen or a monitor) can be used.
Furthermore, it is known to associate sound reproduction devices with a monitor. Thus, for example, an audio system for a computer screen is specified in European Application 0 426 272, in which a number of speakers are distributed around a display unit, whereby a sound source signal is supplied to the speakers variably with regard to the amplitude or phase, while an image is displayed that refers to a sound source on a screen. A special region of the screen is dedicated to this image, this region having coordinates that are processed, whereupon a sound is generated that appears to emanate from a position with a predetermined relationship to the position of the image. Furthermore, an active speaker box for computer systems is known from German OS 42 39 200 that has a pedestal arranged under a monitor, in which the speakers are disposed.
Information of any type is shown to the user on the screen, meaning information in written form, in the form of a field in which something is to be entered, in the form of symbols or, for example, in the form of the cursor or the mouse pointer. During work on the screen, a problem is that the operator always loses eye contact with the “input focus”, thus the region on which user-relevant screen information is displayed to him or her. For example, the location of the working document on which the user was working until recently and on which, for example, the cursor is blinking, or the field of a form to be processed or the like that is currently shown on the screen and which will or must receive the next input, is understood as such an “input focus”. This means that the user relatively quickly loses orientation as to where relevant local screen information is displayed, where the user has to make inputs, etc. Optical signal information that signals a specific situation to the user is also understood as screen-relevant user information. For example, given the use of a reproduction apparatus to control a system, this user-relevant information can be a blinking of a symbol or the like that demands a corresponding action, whereby the user is notified of a danger situation or the like. If the user is inattentive or overtired, etc., the user will not perceive this information.
It is known (in particular in the case of a cursor) to visualize relevant information or displays by rhythmic blinking, and thus to focus the attention of the user thereon. It is also known, for example, to optically emphasize, by an intensive coloring or the like, fields at which an input has to ensue. Nonetheless, these indications given to the user are such that they always require increased attention by the image viewer so that the viewer notices the indication and can orient himself or herself, so that the viewer recognizes that something is to be done and where an input must be made. However, a considerable risk is connected with this, in particular in sensitive, critical application fields. If, for example in the context of system controls, specifically power station control, a user were to react too late to displayed information that required action, this can lead to far greater difficulties. A further example involving a risk is, for example, air traffic monitoring where, for example, two airplanes located on a collision course are optically displayed on a screen; but if the user reacts too late, a possible collision cannot be prevented.
The aforementioned problems increase exponentially when the reproduction apparatus comprises not only one screen, but (as is increasingly common) two or more screens are arranged next to one another and/or one atop the other forming a screen row or screen array on which either contiguous information is shown in the fashion of a large screen, or separate items of information are displayed. The screen information is immense; the demands on the user increase considerably.